1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a mounting structure for electrical equipment to be mounted in a vehicle. More particularly, the present application relates to a mounting structure for electrical equipment such as battery packs, fuel cells, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of vehicles having new drive mechanisms such as electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, etc., has been proceeding in order to improve fuel consumption and for de-polluting exhaust gas. These vehicles must be mounted with electrical equipment (e.g., a fuel cell and a secondary battery for supplying a drive motor with electric power) that is not typically mounted in a vehicle employing an internal combustion engine as the only drive source. From the standpoint of effectively utilizing cabin space, luggage room, and guaranteeing security in case of a collision, proper positioning of the electrical equipment must be determined.
A vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-233648 has a battery mounted on a floor panel in a cabin. In the vehicle disclosed in this publication, the battery (battery pack) is mounted on the floor panel. The battery is disposed in a space that is enclosed by a closed-section member disposed on the floor panel. This battery has a cooling structure wherein an air introduction means for introducing air is coupled to the closed-section member and wherein an air blowout hole is formed in the closed-section member at a predetermined position corresponding to the battery. This battery is divided into two parts to be mounted below the driver and front passenger seats respectively.
According to a structure for mounting the battery mentioned above, the battery is disposed in the space that is enclosed by the closed-section member disposed on the floor panel. The air introduction means for introducing air is coupled to the closed-section member, and the air blowout hole is formed in the closed-section member at the predetermined position corresponding to the battery. Thus, the closed-section member that has long been installed on the floor panel can be effectively utilized as a duct for ventilation and refrigeration. As a result, there is no need to set a new duct or the like. Thus, the battery disposed in the cabin can be ventilated and cooled without adversely affecting the layout quality in the cabin.
However, if the battery is divided into the two parts to be mounted below the driver seat and the front passenger seat respectively as disclosed in the aforementioned publication, functions (a slide function, a fold-down function, and the like) of the seats cannot be realized. If the functions of the seats are to be maintained, spaces for mounting a fuel tank and an exhaust pipe below the floor are narrowed.
This problem to be tackled will be described specifically with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a lateral view of a rear seat of a vehicle in accordance with the related art. FIG. 7 shows the rear seat of the vehicle in accordance with the related art, which is viewed from a position behind the vehicle.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a rear-right seat 1101, a rear-center seat 1111, and a rear-left seat 1121 are disposed on seat rails 5001, 5101, 5201, and 5301 via seat fixture jigs 5003, 5103, 5203, and 5303 respectively. The seat rails 5001, 5101, 5201, and 5301 are provided on a floor panel 1011. The rear-right seat 1101 and the rear-left seat 1121 slide independently of each other in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The rear-center seat 1111 slides together with the rear-right seat 1101 or the rear-left seat 1121 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
A fuel tank 6001 and a muffler 6101 are disposed below the floor panel 1011. To ensure an increased volume of the fuel tank 6001, an upper face of the floor panel 1011 has convex portions in regions where the seat rails 5001, 5101, 5201, and 5301 are not disposed. The height from the ground to a surface 1123 of the seats cannot be increased so as to enable passengers to smoothly get in or out of the vehicle with proper head clearance. In principle, both the front and rear seats are equally restricted by the structural conditions discussed herein.
Thus, mounting batteries below the front and rear seats may be contemplated. In this case, the slide function of the seats needs to be abandoned to ensure spaces below the seats using the spaces for installation of the seat rails, or the fold-down function of the seats needs to be abandoned to ensure spaces below the seats. Reducing the height of the batteries may be contemplated so that they can be mounted while maintaining the functions of the seats.
However, if the slide and fold-down functions of the seats are abandoned, the arrangement of the seats is needlessly limited, or effective utilization of the cabin space and the luggage room space is hindered. Even if the height of the batteries is reduced, they must remain unchanged in volume so as to remain unchanged in capacity. Therefore, the lateral dimensions of the batteries is increased, so that the batteries protrude beyond a width of the vehicle.
In particular, there is a demand to mount batteries following strict service conditions, such as with respect to temperature (e.g., lithium-ion batteries or nickel-hydrogen batteries) not in an engine compartment, but in a cabin.